April's underwater magic

My favourite way to recharge is to head under the sea here on the Ningaloo Reef for some scuba diving. I always take my camera with me and there is always so much amazing scenery and beautiful marine life to photograph. I find that being able to do something completely different with photography helps me be more creative during my portrait and wedding sessions, too. I play with patterns, light and composition while trying to capture the "personality" of each creature and the essence of each scene.

Here are some recent images:

Diver with fish


White tip reef shark cruising the reef


Snapper hunting baitfish


Tuskfish with cleaner wrasse


Yellow dwarf moray eel


Giant clam


Porcelain crab catching dinner


Coral cod with cleaner shrimp


Bubble coral shrimp


Tube worm blenny


Close up of slender flutemouth


Pair of harlequin shrimp feasting on their blue sea star


Clarkii anemonefish


Bream with cleaner wrasse

Vicki & Randall

I have had the great pleasure to photograph Vicki and Randall twice before their wedding and on their wedding day. We headed to a beautiful beach here in Exmouth to do some relaxed portraits of them to really capture their spirits and devotion with the Ningaloo Reef as our backdrop. This is one fabulous, totally in love, happy couple!

The first day we headed out was all about exuberance - the sheer joy and fun of living on the stunning Ningaloo Reef while being in love with life and each other






We used the second day out to let them relax, get away from wedding preparations and real life for a couple of hours as we watched the sun slowly sink into the ocean. They brought their dog, Occy, along and he had to get in on the action, too!









Their wedding day dawned as another gorgeous day - perfect for their beach wedding in Coral Bay. The sun was blazingly bright and the tide was heading out, providing a great stage for their vows.








They sneaked off into the sand dunes for a few minutes of quiet time between their ceremony and the reception.











Eventually the call of the celebration got to them and they strolled back along the beach to the party





Vicki's bouquet toss was eagerly awaited and launched a great evening of food, wine and dancing!


Vicki and Randall are moving from Exmouth in the near future so I thought this a good time to publish some images that I know will bring them back soon!

Family portraits to remember Exmouth

I had a great time recently with a gorgeous, energetic family during two sessions as we set out to capture some quintessential Australian beach family portraits. They really wanted to have some relaxed family photographs with the blue skies, beautiful sea, cool rocks and sandy beach that makes Exmouth such a great place to live. We had to postpone our sessions several times thanks to a couple of unexpected cyclones that cruised past Exmouth but finally the weather was predicted to be calm and clear so we headed to one of my favourite beach areas, Hunter's Access.

The kids had fun playing on the dunes and digging in the sand so we used more playtime as a mini-reward for posing! One of my favourite shots was a candid right before Sam slid down the dune


Ryan and his sister were too cute and very cooperative - for a few seconds at least!



I loved being able to capture a few true "brother sister" moments, too


The whole family was so fun and relaxed that it was hard to choose favourite images. It was a joy to just hang out on the sand while they played with the buckets and shovels...it doesn't get much beachier than this!




Sam's smile is completely infectious



Ryan had pretty much lost interest in all things camera so we decided to plan another short session in a few days. We met at the marina so we could use the rocks that make up the barrier for our backdrop in the setting sun. We made sure to do Ryan's shots first!


I'm sure that these special images will bring back memories of their time in Exmouth for many years to come...and hopefully warm them up when they are back in middle of snowy winter!

Yannarie Solar Salt

The last two weeks have been extremely busy with a wide variety of activities so I apologise for the lack of new posts!

I am now working with Yannarie Solar Salt, a Straits Initiative, to help with their PR work here in Exmouth as they develop their new salt operation. They are active in our community, supporting various local enterprises with donations and contributions while they prepare to launch a large project on the East Side of the Gulf that will bring in good, solid jobs to the area. My main responsibilities will be to photograph various functions & events, and write articles for various publications about current Yannarie Solar Salt contributions and projects.

Last week James Barrie, Project Manager, was in town to present donations to Mrs. Mac's Second Hand Shop, a local institution vital to the locals, and to the Truscott Club.

Canon's 100-400L in the backyard

Sunday was very hot here in Exmouth and I wanted to get out of my office for a little while to enjoy the day. What better way than by grabbing a lens that doesn't get as much use as it should? Our yards are filled with birds, lizards and dragonflies so I was confident I could find some worthy subjects for some photography.

As I walked out in the front yard, I ran right into one of our local emus! Luckily he has no chicks at the moment so just quietly moseyed off, only allowing one frame before cutting between the cars in the driveway.


The backyard proved to be lizard-free for the first time in recent memory, but there were plenty of birds out and about. This little dove was sitting quietly on the ground. I'm always surprised to see birds relaxing in our yard since we have three cats!


Our neighbours have a tree that overhangs the fence and it is currently filled with dainty peach coloured blooms. They seem to be a treat for the local bird life and they get into the oddest contortions to get at the good stuff.






It's impossible to head into the backyard without company. My two Rhodesian Ridgebacks need to be in the action, just to make sure they don't miss anything. MatildaLily has her moments of pure sweetness


soon followed by moments of anticipation


and preparation for pure naughtiness!


Dora, my older girl, mostly just wishes both her sister and I would go away and leave her in peace!